History

Since 1999 Manta has shared it's airport with the U.S. Air Force in unison with Ecuador in strategic warfare against Colombian drug traffic cartels through surveillance flights in an effort to stop the flow of illegal narcotics.

In 1996 a Boeing 707 cargo aircraft crashed into a wooden church located in Manta. It was reported that amazingly the statue of the virgin remained intact.

Manta was also the host city for the sixth South American Windsurfing Championship in 1991.

Geographic

Manta is an important city at the province of Manabí. It located in a dry tropical forest area.

Manta also serves as the primary industrial port for Ecuador's tuna fishing industry.

Climate

Manta is located in a dry tropical forest area with an average annual temperature of 25 degrees Celsius (77° F)
The area has a huge variety of climatic zones attributed to the peculiar ones characteristic geographical like the coast, interandina or mountain, amazon and insular.

During the year, there are two seasons; rainy, and dry.

The rainy season is approximately six months long when it is hot and humid, and occurs from December to May.

The dry season is approximately six months long and occurs during the months of June to November. It is warm but very low humidity.

Get around

Taxi service is inexpensive and you can get to most places from one to three dollars. You can also take buses throughout th city, but with cheap taxis that is the best option for a tourist.

See

The evenings see a hive of activity of partying people, loud music and meandering cars that form around the nearby side streets and main frontage of the Malecón that arcs around the bay. Bathed in constant fresh winds the Malecón is always a pleasant area to walk in the evening and most refreshing in the night breezes.

Beaches

El Murciélago

This is the most popular beach area in Manta. It has a a wide variety of restaurants serving seafood and local dishes, bars and other attractions for fun and relaxation.
Recreational aquatic sports such as surfing, diving, sailing, body-boarding, and fishing are enjoyed here as well. The beach is in the vicinity numerous hotels, retail stores, supermarkets, and banking facilities and automatic teller machines.

Tarqui

Barbasquillo

San Mateo

La Tiñosa

Santa Marianita

Linguique

San Lorenzo

San Lorenzo is located 28 kilometers from Manta. It is known for its diverse rock formations, caves, marine birds and the Island of The Silver. The months of June to September you can take in the incredible sight of hunchback whales as they pass from north to south.
San Lorenzo's forest, with an extension of 50 hectares, was declared a protected area to avoid its deterioration as an ecological area. Popular activities include surfing, sunbathing and whale-watching. The climb to the light house is amazing and often accompanied by views of blue-footed boobies.

Main Attractions

Isla Corazón

It’s a mangrove island where one of the largest frigate bird colonies of the southern pacific lives. The island is great for bird watching, at least 60 sea bird species are found.

La segua Marsh

It’s a sweet water humidity area of about 172 hectares. In La Segua there are approximately 280 thousand kinds of birds. It’s one of the most interesting bird-watching sites on the Ecuadorian coast.

Cerro Seco

One of the last tropical dry forests in the world is located in the Bahía de Caráquez area near by the Pacific Ocean.Early in the morning dozens of birds can be seen and heard. A small colony of golden orioles builds its nests in the giant ceibos branches.

El Estuardio

One of the sites to be visited is El Estuario, where 101 bird species have been registered.

Tropical dishes

Manta has an amazing selection of fresh seafood. You can find fish, shirmp, octopus, calamari, clams, mussels, prawns, lobsters, crabs and scallops that are especially fresh and cheap. Ceviche and viche de pescado are traditional tropical dishes in Manta. Fresh coconut juice is always available on the beach, and other delicious fresh fruit juices and smoothies are available on the malecon.

Entertainment

Manta hosts an International Theater Festival in September. There are sporting events from January through April. Downtown you can find first rate night clubs, bars, and casinos.

Do

Learn Spanish and Surfing
Academia Surpacifico [4] and Montanita Spanish School [5] provide special Spanish language programs, such as "Spanish and surfing", "Spanish and kiteboarding", medical Spanish, volunteer program. This language school is recognized by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Ecuador.

During the off season you can easily get a beach front hotel room. The cost of your vacation will be pleasantly inexpensive. The people are friendly. If you go during June through August you will enjoy comfortable weather that is not too hot.

Buy

Manta has Paseo Shopping Mall on Avenida 4 de Noviembre. It is a a western styled modern shopping mall including clothing shops, a supermarket, banks and automatic teller machines, movie theater, and food court.

Close to Manta is Montecristi which has been known for years for their panama hats. There are numerous little shops selling Panama hats, tagua nut artwork, and other works of artisan craft works made in Ecuador. An English speaking tour guide or taxi driver can be helpful in your shopping.

Restaurants

The people who live in there, they eat at their home. They have their tropic delicious food. They eat rice what cook with the salt and oil. And for the tourist, they always eat in the restaurant.

Get out

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!